


Not According to Plan

by failuretoland



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Family Fluff, Fix-It, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23894194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failuretoland/pseuds/failuretoland
Summary: Remus wasn’t supposed to start his paternity leave until the next week. However, his second child decided to surprise everyone. AU, Remus and Tonks survive the war.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	Not According to Plan

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written nor posted fanfiction in years. This is my first attempt at it in a very long time. Please do be kind! This also hasn't been proofread by anyone else, just me.

Professor R. J. Lupin was a planner. Everything was settled for the next week when he was due to start his paternity leave. He hadn’t intended on taking a month-long leave, truth be told. He reasoned that a full week away from Hogwarts was enough. He did negotiate for the permission to leave the castle during the evenings and weekends, to come back when he was due to teach of course. The Headmistress heard nothing of it: she insisted on allowing him an extended leave and arranged for a substitute. Up until earlier this week, he tried rejecting what he believed was an overly gracious offer, but his words fell on deaf ears. The Headmistress was quite persuasive; after all, she was the one who almost begged him to come back and take this job.

Professor R. J. Lupin was definitely a planner. He just didn’t count on his unborn child having other plans.

Today was supposed to be a normal day. He had just gotten back on his feet, with the full moon falling on the week prior. His students were accustomed to his absences once a month as it was well known that their Defense of the Dark Arts professor was a werewolf. Not only was it well-known, but it was also greatly accepted by everyone around him. Gone were the days of extreme prejudice to his kind and much has changed since the days before the War ended. He had many to thank for the shift in perspective: Headmistress McGonagall, who reinstated him as a Hogwarts professor; Minister Shacklebolt, who awarded him an Order of Merlin, First Class (the first ever to a werewolf) for his services in both Wizarding Wars; Hermione Granger, who championed the rights of werewolves and spearheaded legislative changes in the Ministry; Auror Harry Potter, who would speak only good things about his former professor to anyone who would listen; and of course, his lovely and fiery wife, who would hex anyone who would attempt to even look at her husband with disdain. Truly, Remus had much to be thankful for.

A routine was already established in his classes at Hogwarts. During the two to three days that he needed to take a necessary absence every month, Professor Emily Denbright would be called in to substitute. She was a student of his back in 1993, a bright one at that, which made him certain that she was more than capable. She was also called on to cover for his month-long leave, much to the delight of his male students. He was keenly aware of how the young gentlemen regarded their young professor. It worried him a tad, wondering if it would hinder any work being done in the classroom; but their arrangements have gone smoothly for around three years now, with no disastrous results. He was just glad that his students liked her as much they liked him.

Currently, he was with his seventh-year students. They were huddled in pairs, some furiously scribbling on notebooks and others animatedly chatting. He had tasked them to prepare for a debate on the ethics of Unforgivable Curses. They were to come up with statements that support both arguments (either pro-usage or otherwise) and they will hold the actual debate during the following meeting. Given this was a N.E.W.T. level class, he had to focus more on complex ideas like this one. By this time, they were expected to have mastered most practical spells. Besides, his students enjoyed opportunities like this for (friendly) argumentation.

He was in the middle of a heated discussion with a very-opinionated Slytherin boy when his class was interrupted. The young Slytherin sought his professor’s opinion on which of the Curses was the least harmful, as he and his partner disagreed.

“But professor, surely taking away another person’s free-will is worse than temporarily inflicting pain?”

“That depends on a lot of factors, Mr. Selwyn,” said Remus calmly. “You and Ms. Fawley have to first define what is ethical and what is not. Also, the idea of ‘temporary’ is quite relative.”

“Exactly!” answered Ms. Fawley, Selwyn’s equally spirited Hufflepuff partner. “Not all uses of the Cruciatus or Imperius Curse are temporary.”

“May I suggest,” Remus said, inserting himself before the argument went off-tangent. “that you consider the following: intent and duration of use. From there, you can perhaps rank what you perceive is a more acceptable use of the curse.”

“Sir, if that’s the case, does that mean the Ministry does allow a certain level of usage of the Unforgivables?” asked Ms. Gibbons, a Ravenclaw girl seated nearby.

“Well—” began Remus, but he was unable to continue as the door to his classroom flew open and Headmistress McGonagall strode in.

“Professor McGonagall, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Remus asked, with both warmth and apprehension. Her interruption did not upset him in the slightest, but it was something she rarely did; only for important and urgent matters.

“Professor Lupin, please start collecting your belongings and I can take care of the rest of your classes today,” said McGonagall. “Andromeda just came by Floo and informed me that it was time.”

“I— what?” said Remus lamely, not quite processing what his superior had said. By this time, all of his seventh-year students dropped what they were doing to observe what was happening.

“Your wife, Remus,” said McGonagall with a warm smile. “She’s in labor.”

That sent the younger professor into overdrive. He rushed to his desk and started haphazardly arranging his things, while still attempting to wrap his head around the news. “Is— isn’t it a bit early? I mean— Dora isn’t due for another two weeks! Oh Merlin—” stammered Remus. In his panic, he sent a couple of books on his desks toppling over and several sheets of parchment flying. A pair of Gryffindor girls nearest him, bless them, stood up and started grabbing the fallen objects. “Wh— what about the rest of my classes this week? I haven’t even informed Emily!” That last frantic statement was directed towards the Headmistress who stood at the center of the room, looking at him with pursed lips.

“I will take care of informing Professor Denbright,” answered McGonagall.

“Right,” said Remus breathlessly, as he stuffed whatever he could into his briefcase. Then, he addressed the students and rattled off instructions: “Well then, everyone please continue your work and I shall ask Professor Denbright to facilitate your debate. You will be finding out what your side is on the day of the debate itself. Do remember that you need to first establish the foundations of your arguments—”

“Remus!” McGonagall cut him exasperatedly. “Nymphadora is about to give birth!”

“Right!” said Remus, finally coming to his senses. “Cheers, ladies and gentlemen! See you all in a month!” In response, the class erupted in cheers of encouragement.

“See you soon, Professor!”

“Good luck, sir!”

“Bring back some photos of your new cub!”

That last one earned a swift whack on the head with a roll of parchment from the Headmistress.

McGonagall walked Remus to the door, giving him assurances that his classes will be fine and that he should not worry. Before rushing out, she reminded him about his first-born. “I haven’t had the time to collect Edward from his class yet. I went here immediately after hearing from Andromeda. I figured you wanted to go to him yourself.”

“Ah yes yes, I should go collect Teddy,” said Remus distractedly. “Where is he now?”

“In Charms class,” said the Headmistress. Remus was about to rush to the said classroom but turned back around again to face her.

“Thank you, Minvera,” he said sincerely, extending his hand to her.

“Anything for a friend, Remus,” she answered warmly. “Now go!” With that, he dashed off in the direction of the Charms classroom.

* * *

Upon arriving in the Charms classroom, Remus was greeted with feathers in varying degrees of flight. The first-years must be learning the Levitation Charm. Their professor, however, was not in his customary platform in front of the classroom. Remus scanned to find the professor in question but could not spot him. He did, however, find a bright green head of hair that distinctly belonged to his eleven-year-old son.

Remus cleared his throat and knocked on the open door. “Professor Flitwick?” he called. At this, all the heads of students turned to the sound of their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor’s voice. Teddy’s face broke into a smile at the sight of his father and happily waved.

“Ah, Professor Lupin!” greeted Flitwick, appearing from behind one of the rows of tables. “What can I do for you?”

“I apologize for the disturbance, Professor,” said Remus. “But may I please excuse Edward for the rest of the period?” Both Teddy and Flitwick frowned slightly upon hearing this. For Teddy, it was mostly due to his distaste of being called by his given name (something he takes from his mother). For Flitwick, it was out of confusion as it was not customary to pull students out of their classes, even by their parents. Unless, of course, it was for a valid reason.

“For what, Professor?” Flitwick asked kindly.

“My son is about to be an older brother. I do believe he’d want to witness that,” Remus said, grinning unabashedly this time. “I’ve already received permission from the Headmistress to pull him out.”

Flitwick clapped happily in response and Teddy’s hair turned bright yellow in surprise. “Oh, what wonderful news!” squeaked the Charms professor. “Young Mr. Lupin, go on now and join your father!” Teddy was two-steps ahead of his professor and had already begun stuffing his things in his bag. In less than a minute, he was flying down the rows of chairs and headed out the door.

“Do give my best to Nymphadora!” called Flitwick as they exited, which Remus acknowledged with a nod.

By the time he closed the door to the classroom, his son was already at the end of the hallway. “C’mon, dad!” exclaimed Teddy impatiently.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

* * *

The father-and-son pair did not waste any more time upon arriving back in his office. By this time, his class with the seventh-years had already ended and the adjacent classroom was empty. He quickly ushered his son near the fireplace and prepared the Floo powder. Young Teddy was practically vibrating in excitement and his hair kept shifting colors.

“Control your morphing, Ted,” admonished Remus with a smile.

“I can’t, dad!”

“Alright, alright… Now, in you go,” He lightly pushed his son inside the fireplace from which sprung forth green flames. “Remember to speak clearly and mind your head!” Once his son disappeared fully, he followed suit.

When he exited from the fireplace of his mother-in-law’s house, he found that his son hadn’t waited and gone ahead.

“Andromeda? Dora?” called Remus.

“Up here, dad!” the voice of his son answered back.

Remus made his way up the stairs into the room he shared with his wife, which he found to be already bustling with activity. A midwife was in one corner preparing a series of potions. Andromeda was in the other corner folding some towels, and he greeted her with a quick hug. His son was sitting by his mother, who was lying as comfortably as she could on their bed. Her face was covered in a sheen of sweat and was scrunched up in pain.

“What. Took. You. So. Long?” demanded Dora through gritted teeth, enunciating each word as though pain shot through her with every word. She was holding onto Teddy’s hand and it seemed like she was crushing his fingers. Teddy did not show any indication that she was holding on too tight, but merely continued holding on.

“Good to see you too, darling,” he said with a soft kiss to her forehead. “How far along are you?”

It was the midwife who answered this time. “The baby won’t come for another couple of hours.” She came over with the tray of potions and set it on the bedside table. Then she introduced herself, “Hiya Mr. Lupin, my name is Dawn! I’ll be assisting Mrs. Lupin today.” Remus smiled at the young woman who seemed to genuinely enjoy her job.

Before Remus could respond, Dora blurted out something as another wave of pain came. “Are you sure it’s not happening now? I’m so fucking ready to pop this kid out!”

“Dora!” exclaimed Andromeda. “Teddy’s here!”

“You need to be dilated a few more centimeters, Mrs. Lupin,” said Dawn kindly. “I can, however, already give you a potion for the pain.” Dora grunted affirmatively, and immediately drank the vial that was handed to her.

“We’re never having sex again after this!” proclaimed Dora, jabbing a finger at her husband’s chest.

“Dora!” Andromeda reprimanded again.

“Mum!” Teddy exclaimed at the same time.

All Remus could do was bark out a laugh in response.

* * *

After a few more hours in labor, Dora finally exhaled a sigh of relief as the first cry of their newborn baby pierced the air. Dawn and Andromeda made quick work of cleaning up both Dora and the baby. Remus stayed by his wife’s side the entire time, holding onto her hand and periodically wiping off the sweat of her face. Teddy, on the other hand, bolted downstairs at the first sight of blood. He simply announced that he’ll be back once the “gross parts” are over.

Once everything was cleaned up, Dawn carefully handed the bundled-up baby to the waiting parents. “Your daughter,” she announced softly.

Dora held their daughter close to her chest as it continued to cry softly. The baby’s face was scrunched up with its tearless cries. As Dora tried to calm her down her cries with soft coos, the baby slowly stopped crying. Remus kept his eyes glued to his daughter while he kept one arm securely around his wife. He reached out tentatively and caressed the baby’s soft pink cheeks with the back of his finger. “She’s wonderful,” he whispered to Dora.

Andromeda observed the scene with a small smile as she held back tears of her own. “I’ll go call Teddy,” she said.

“Thank you, mum,” Dora said gratefully before Andromeda exited. Dawn silently excused herself from the room as well, taking the tray of empty vials and the basket of used up towels.

Remus held his wife closer to him and planted a soft kiss to her temple. He was overcome with so much love for both Dora and his newborn daughter that he was at a loss for what to say. All he could do was look upon what was before him. For years, he made himself believe that he would never have this: a family. It wasn’t customary for werewolves to marry and have children of their own. In fact, he might very well be the first documented case of a werewolf settling down and producing children. Those of his kind were forced to exclude themselves from society and gather in packs away from everyone else. With abysmal chances of decent employment and general ostracism from the Wizarding community, they were left with no other option.

But Dora changed all of that for him. She refused to accept his worn-out adage of being “too old, too poor, and too dangerous”. She had shown him nothing but love, even when he thought he least deserved it. _How could someone as beautiful, smart, and kind as her love someone like me?_ That was his constant line of self-questioning. Eventually, she tore down his walls and he finally stopped being so self-effacing. As much as he tried to convince himself that he didn’t love her, he could not deny that he did. And he finally allowed himself to do so.

Life with Dora had already given him so much. She was the light at the end of the tunnel of the seemingly endless War they were fighting. The two of them almost did not make it out of the Battle of Hogwarts alive, but they did, though not unscathed. They still got to go home to their then one-month-old son.

 _Teddy_. His young and vibrant son, who changed his hair to any color he wished, who was as incredibly clumsy as his mother, and who was growing up to be as intelligent as he hoped him to be, was another light in his life. A healthy child who did not carry his affliction was more than he could ask for. And now, he was granted the gift of a second child. A _daughter_.

“Remus?” asked Dora, breaking his train of thought. “What will we name her?”

“To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought,” he answered with a tinge of guilt. Dora hummed in response and she looked like she was deep in thought.

“Well, I have,” she told him, in a way that sounded like she was quite proud of herself. “I’ve actually been reading some of your books during the last few weeks…”

“You? Reading? Now, those are two words I didn’t think could exist in the same sentence,” Remus retorted in mock incredulity.

His wife scoffed at him and smacked his chest lightly with the back of her hand. “What else would I be doing all alone here at home?” she asked.

“You know I was only kidding,” he reassured with another kiss to her temple. “Do go on, darling.”

“So I picked up one of your books on Mythology. To be frank, that’s the only one that didn’t put me to sleep immediately,” she said, laughing. “I found the story of Selene, the goddess of—”

“… the moon,” he finished softly.

“Yes,” Dora said, again quite proudly. “And I figured since we named Teddy after dad, we could name her after your mum.” Remus stared at his wife in wonder, still processing what her words meant. “So… she’ll be named Selene Hope Lupin.”

Hearing the name made Remus tear up considerably. “Dora… I…” He choked up as the tears threatened to fall. He couldn’t find the words to respond to what his wife said.

Dora’s face fell and immediately changed her tune. “Remus, do you not like it? We— we can change…!” she stammered.

Remus looked into her eyes to stop her before she mistook his reaction any further. “No, Dora… I love it. It’s a beautiful name,” he said, his tears now freely falling. Dora smiled lovingly at him and moved to kiss him. “Thank you,” he added in a whisper. Dora beamed even more.

The door of their bedroom opened slightly, and a fluorescent blue-haired Teddy popped his head in to examine the scene. “Mum, Dad, is it safe to enter?” he asked tentatively.

“Come on in, Ted,” beckoned Remus.

The young boy made his way closer to his parents and started animatedly gushing over his new little sister. As he observed his wife and children (more than one now!) interact with one another, Remus realized that the smile on his face never left since he first heard his daughter cry out. _Could it get any better than this?_ He asked himself. Years ago, on many a lonely night fresh off his transformation, he was convinced that he was nothing but a monster that was not worthy of a normal life. But now, the scene before him was showing him, life had granted him everything that he once believed to be beyond his grasp.

Professor R. J. Lupin was a planner, he made sure of it. Early on, he decided that plans of marriage and a family were not on the cards for him. But apparently... life had other plans for him. And he was more than happy to be proven wrong.


End file.
